1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgery support system and surgery support method, and particularly relates to a surgery support system and surgery support method for supporting surgery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Normally, surgery is performed on a patient by a surgeon in a surgery room. However, a system is being conceived for cases such as, for example, a surgeon in the surgery room needing to perform surgery regarding which he/she has little experience, wherein the surgeon is connected by a communication line with a surgeon skilled in the particular surgery at a remote location (hereafter referred to as “remote support surgeon”), so that the surgeon in the surgery room can perform the surgery under the remote support of the remote support surgeon, such as instructions on parts to be removed, so appropriate surgery can be performed on the patient in the surgery room.
An example of a remote surgery support system for supporting surgery in such a remote matter is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-245738.
The art disclosed therein requires that a first monitor means for displaying output images of an endoscope camera, and the second monitor means for displaying images transferred from the remote location, be installed in the surgery room.
Now, when endoscopic surgery is being performed, the surgery room is filled with much equipment. Accordingly, newly installing such equipment in the surgery room could worsen the surgery environment. On the other hand, there has been need for the surgeon to observe the endoscope images and images from the remote location on separate monitors. With endoscopic surgery, the direction of the hands of the surgeon and the location where the observation monitor is installed may not be in the same direction, which is not a suitable arrangement for surgery. Moreover, with remote surgery support, a further monitor is installed next to the main observation monitor, so the surgeon has been forced to observe monitors in an even more unnatural manner.
The present invention has been made in light of the above, and accordingly, it is an object thereof to provide a surgery support system and surgery support method wherein endoscope observation images and instruction information from a remote location can be integrated and displayed on a single monitor without inviting deterioration in the working environment of the surgery room when performing remote surgery support to instruct surgery from a remote location side via a communication line.